engagement: both in and out of the classroom academic ... 61... · academic equity and engagement:...
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Academic Equity and Engagement: Incorporating a Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Both In and Out of the ClassroomFelicia Griffin-Fennell, Ph.D. & Jane Lerner, M.Ed.Springfield Technical Community CollegeSpringfield, MA
Who are we? Felicia Griffin-Fennell, Ph.D.
● Director, Hispanics & Low-Income Transformed Education in STEM (HiLITES) project
● DOE-funded, HSI-STEM grant project● 2016-2021
Jane Lerner, M.Ed.
● Director, Decreasing Inequities, Increasing Success project
● DOE-funded, Title III grant project● 2015-2020
Takeaways
1Gain new perspective on defining
culturally responsive pedagogy
2Cultivate insight on how to
develop a classroom environment
that is comfortable for all students
and meet faculty goals
3Identify key campus offices,
organizations, and personnel that
are critical for students to know
and build connections with
4Develop ways to foster new
connections between faculty and
students, both in and out of the
classroom
The Context: STCCSpringfield Technical Community College, Springfield
MA, is an urban, 2-year public institution with
approximately 5,500 students
✼ | Age Range: 17-83
✼ | Ethnicity: White (42%), Hispanic (29%), Black (17%), Other (12%)
✼ | Gender: Female (58%), Male (42%)
✼ | Enrollment: Part-time (57%), Full-time (43%)
✼ | HSI Designation Year: 2015
The Context: Equity and Student EngagementThrough the U.S. Dept. of Education Title III and HSI-STEM grants, STCC embarked upon a multi-year training program for Faculty and Staff, which included:
● Culturally responsive teaching faculty series● Establish off-campus collaborators
○ Escala Educational Services of New Mexico○ Unidos Equity Institute of Adams State University○ POGIL○ Local community organizations
● Building Community lunch conversation series● All-campus professional development days
○ We are HSI
Questions:
01 What role can faculty have in helping to increase equity and engagement in the classroom between students of color and
white students?
02
How does the idea of culturally responsive teaching impact the student experience
at college? 03 What do we need to include in
our teaching in order to ensure that students connect
with each other and their faculty?
Influencing Factors on Equity and Engagement01 | Faculty connections have a direct positive correlation to retention and graduation rates;
02 | Academic rigor and standards need to be developed and maintained in a way that is equitable to
all students;
03 | Understanding of the psychosocial cultural factors at play during classroom interactions is
critical.
Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT)
Competence:
Cultivating students’ cognitive abilities to organize and study rigorous content
Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT)
Relatedness:
Fostering supportive and positive relationships between professor, students, and rigorous content
Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT)
Trust:
Assessment strategies and policies that demonstrate the professor believes that ALL students are capable of learning rigorous content
Influencing Factors on Student Engagement01 | Personal challenges that our students bring to the classroom every day;
02 | Explicit and implicit bias, microaggressions, and other forms of discrimination;
03 | The symbiotic affective relationship between students and faculty;
04 | Lack of knowledge regarding campus resources.
Wrap up: Connection between student engagement & CRT
● It is essential to incorporate the three tenets of CRT into the work that you do with your students.
● Learn who your students are.● Consider what can you do to make the
environment comfortable for all students, and meet your own goals for your course content.
